UNH chemistry department continues fight over research space

Wednesday

Jun 27, 2007 at 2:22 PMJun 27, 2007 at 2:30 PM

By THOMAS R. KRESSLER Democrat Staff Writer

DURHAM — The Chemical Engineering Department at the University of New Hampshire is fighting the fight, even while Dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences Joseph Klewicki plans to bring in movers and change locks for a disputed space at the end of the week.

Space reallocations were the subject of a grievance filed by the faculty union on behalf of the chemical engineering department. The matter went to arbitration, with the arbitrator ruling at the end of May that Morse Hall 103, used as research space by a faculty member, was unfairly assigned to a different department by Klewicki in 2005.

But the arbitrator also ruled that two other disputed rooms — Room 104 in Morse Hall, a bioengineering lab, and student project space in the newly renovated Kingsbury Hall — are not covered under the faculty's collective bargaining agreement, because they involve student space.

Now, chair of the Chemical Engineering Department Dale Barkey, who is also president of the faculty union, says the department is opposing Klewicki's plans to move the department out of Morse 104 by the end of the week.

"We're still insisting that our students should have a student project lab," Barkey said. "It's not fair to the students. It would be damaging to their education so we're simply refusing to do this."

Barkey said two courses are already scheduled to be taught in Morse 104 next semester, and it would not be "feasible or reasonable to expect us to move this lab now, even if they give us a decent space to move into."

The department is opposing the move even though the arbitrator's ruling affirmed the university's right reallocate the rooms.

"The chemical engineering space issue is like all space decisions at UNH, an internal matter and the UNH administration is acting in compliance to the May 31 ruling of the arbitrator," said University Spokesperson Kim Billings.

Barkey, however, says the arbitrator ruled that Klewicki violated the collective bargaining agreement by making these space decisions in an "arbitrary or capricious" manner. H

The faculty union and the University System of New Hampshire remain at an impasse regarding contract negotiations, which have been ongoing since prior contracts expired on June 30 of last year.

Prior to the impasse, the university system proposed a 4.5 percent raise for each year on the three-year contract. Under the administration's proposal, faculty members would take on a higher share of health insurance costs.

The faculty union proposed a 6 percent salary increase per year for the next two years and rejected an increase in benefit cost sharing.